Reading Skills

Reading is a lifelong skill that we use on a daily basis. It is an essential part of language instruction at every level because it supports learning in multiple ways:

·         We read in order to learn the language: absorbing vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and discourse structure as they occur in authentic contexts.

·          We read to get the information  what gives us both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading.

·         We read to obtain cultural knowledge and awareness as materials that are designed for native speakers can give students insight into the lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose language they are studying.

However reading is becoming less popular nowadays. Children prefer playing computer games or watching TV to reading. So  how to make them  read?

First of all, I think,  parents should get their children used to love book. As one article says: “The most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages.” I think that parents are the fist and the most important example in the education of any child. If they show their children that reading is necessary and entertaining  the latter will like it. Then teachers should reinforce that love for reading motivating children to read by  choosing appropriate topics   about something they would want to find out more, taking into account the voluntary reading when assessing…

I like the idea of the “reading corner” in a classroom which consist in  having books in English of different levels and those who read them voluntarily to higher them a final mark. For example if a student wants to improve his/her mark give  him/her an opportunity to do it with reading a book and writing a report.

The feedback is very important. We have to know if students like the books we choose for them to read and  if they are not difficult for them to understand. The good idea would be to create a kind if a notebook where they could write their opinions about what they have read and to encourage others to read or not  these books . If some  book gets few negative opinions  teacher should replace it by another one. Introducing new books is always motivating for students to read them.

I would like to add that one of the common errors students commit when reading is going word by word and stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item. I remember I was doing the same when I started to read books in English but then I understood that it would take eternity to finish them. You  don´t need to know each  word to get the idea of the story.  Usually we guess the meaning from the context using prior knowledge of the subject and the ideas in the text as clues to the meanings of unknown words, instead of stopping to look them up. So I would like to point out that even if you don´t understand some words you just keep reading.